I waited for the filler to dry and sanded it today. Horrors! In one spot, a tack head must have been sticking out slightly and I sanded a small tack head size hole in my canvas.
Set the tack head. Mix some epoxy with wood flour or West 403. Push it in the hole and under the canvas and smooth it out. Let it dry and sand it smooth ---by hand.
We all screw up now and then. Not to worry but I wouldnt advise the above repair. The canvas will and wants to move separately from the planking. 1 - Either reclinch or replace the problem tack. 2 - Cut a patch of canvas [ blue jean material works great ] out which is somewhat larger than the hole. 3 - Place this material between the planking and canvas so that the hole is covered from the underside. 4 - Apply Ambroid glue between the canvas patch and the canoe canvas. Smooth out the repair and allow to dry. 5 - Apply more Ambroid glue if needed. 6 - Lightly sand and fill with automotive finishing putty if required.
Thanks Gill and Dave. I took a little from each method.
After resetting the offending tack I:
Cut a small patch (dime size) from scrap canvas.
Made a slit across the hole with a razor blade to make it large enough to get the patch in the hole and under the canvas.
Stuffed the patch in through the hole and spread it out underneath. This was harder than it sounds.
Used exopy to glue the patch to the canvas and fill the hole being careful not to glue the patch to planking. (didn't have Ambroid).
Hand sanded it down
It seems to have turned out fine. You can feel the patch if you run you hand over the area, but you can't see the repair. Hopefully, it will be water tight.
Something to consider. When you strap your w/c canoe to the top of a vehicle then head down the highway the canvas is forced away from the planking. If you have glued the canvas to the hull this will cause a lot of stress on the canvas at that site. This will eventually cause a blotch on your exterior finish and in your case possibly a leak. This is also often when those ugly foreign objects such as sand migrate readily between the canvas and planking but that is another subject as is why not to varnish your canoe interior after the canvas is on unless the planking gaps are tight. The repair you made shouldn't cause any future problems. A thinner canvas repair material might have helped the final finish.
